National Artist Tony Mabesa’s Legacy Lives on with the Revival of DUP Playwrights through ‘Ang Kaliitan ng Kasalukuyan’

MANILA, Philippines — With its 50th Theatre Season underway, Dulaang UP’s furthers its invitation you to a communal celebration of their students, alumni, and previous collaborators.

This has since been initiated in their recent run of DUP Classics’ “Para Kay Tony: Tungo sa Ginintuang Alaala“, A Tribute to our National Artist for Theatre Tony Mabesa, the first ever all student-led process and choice of plays tackling oppressive authorities were the message. The production was a display of Dulaang UP’s storied transformation through its decades of ups and downs to become a space for sharp questioning and nurturing curiosity — as the late DUP Founding Artistic Director, Tony Mabesa, envisioned the program.

Dulaang UP’s 48th Theatre Season, “Paano umuwi nang may pagpapasya?” picks up on probing the question of intentionality in coming home through looking back at DUP’s humble beginnings. Mabesa’s legacy lives on with the revival of UP Playwrights’ Theatre, renamed to DUP Playwrights now on its 29th Theatre Season, through the play, “Ang Kaliitan ng Kasalukuyan”, written and directed by Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature multi-awarded playwright and our Artistic Director, Arlo Deguzman. 

Written from a place of diasporic experience, this piece is a powerful and contemporary work that tackles the emotional landscape of and an ode to our present day heroes, Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). These stories, embodied in movement and lyric, aim to negotiate the melancholically veiled struggles of an OFW: a father’s frustration from unending remittances, a mother seeking to make the sacrifice worthwhile, a sister negotiating the promise of separation, and a son bearing the silence of a deafening burden. DUP invites us to contemplate on our origins and bids for connection and home.

Perhaps this allows you to ponder on life in the Philippines or abroad and would lead you to questions or answers sought after. One might even find comfort in knowing some of the cast and crew had been an OFW, had thought (or is thinking) of being one, or longs for a loved one abroad. Whether an OFW or not, a story relative to yours will be told live through theatre that will certainly evoke in you a sense of yearning. 

The production will run from March 12, 2026 to March 29, 2026 at the IBG-KAL Theater, UP Diliman; Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30PM, and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30PM and 7:30PM.

Tickets come with the following prices: 1,000 PHP Regular Price; 800 PHP PWD / Senior Citizens / Non-UP Students; 700 PHP for OFWs—current and former, ticket is transferable, via direct purchase; 650 PHP UP Community (Students and Employees): Friday–Sunday shows, via direct purchase; and 550 PHP UP Community (Students and Employees): Thursday shows, via direct purchase. These are all available via https://bit.ly/AngKaliitanNgKasalukuyan2026

Note that discounts/promos are not stackable on each other. 

A Community Beyond the Theater

Dulaang UP’s young platforms—DUP Social, a space for friends, patrons, and students of theatre to celebrate and talk about their love for the artform, and DUP Studio, expanding from workshops to providing an insider look at their theater-making process since its introduction in 2023—have also outlined its slate of activities in store for patrons and art enthusiasts in this offering, all for free.

DUP Social

1. PeliDula: Theater & Migration Series – an initiative to bring pro-shot recordings of previous DUP productions from the archives to the screen. Three plays aligning with the theme of migration will be featured prior to Ang Kaliitan ng Kasalukuyan’s showdates, to be announced soon.
2. Arts Market – DUP’s community of artist-makers and entrepreneurs is blossoming and their space widens to accommodate more concessionaires! Events such as Lirika’t Lahok, where invited performers share their talent to audiences before the show, continue through the Arts Market space. Interested merchants can sign up or inquire through Dulaang UP’s social media pages. 

DUP Studio

1. Networking Night – a cross-college networking event for UP Diliman’s many art and design majors. If you major in music, dance, fine arts, art studies, clothing technology, or literature, you are more than welcome to participate and meet like-minded creatives!
2. Contemporary Plays from Around the World: Staged Reading Series – a platform where participants are exposed to contemporary plays and interpret the pieces from different lenses.
3. Backstage Tours — done every Sunday during the show weeks. Gives an opportunity for audience members to explore the inner workings beyond the stage. They get to explore the stage and meet backstage crew and their designated work areas.
4. Critical Platform Writing Workshop — a writing workshop and competition for aspiring student writers to be welcomed in a space that boosts their knowledge, expertise and craft for critical writing. The participants will be asked to participate in a one-day workshop wherein they will be taught and given activities to test and practice their critiquing skills. 

In February, in celebration of Arts Month, Dulaang UP has also mounted a Tiny Gallery Exhibition of their Legacy and Heritage with workshop series, both in partnership with the UP Diliman Office of Initiatives for Culture and the Arts.